Vengeance
by salvationiscreated
Summary: What lengths would you go to for revenge? *Read inside. Rating subject to change.
1. Prologue

**Summary: What would you do for revenge?; After the fall of Ozai, an earthquake shatters the peace... But what is it really?**

**You know what? I actually can't give you a halfway decent summary at the moment without telling you what all happens. So go with that for now, and I'll fix it later. (:**

**A/N: ****Alright, so before you read and bash, please read this.**

**I have had this idea in my head for a while, but I haven't been sure about posting it at all. I have the story planned out in my head and I plan to post it all, but I don't think I did a good job with this, the introduction. So I ask that you please be considerate of my disaster of a prologue and keep an open mind. I hope it is not unbearable, because I really think the idea is interesting. As for how I write it...well you decide. :/ I am not at all confident in my writing abilities, so please don't hesitate to send me (constructive!) criticism. Also, it may sound rushed. But I promised myself I would begin the story officially before the movie was released...which is in eight hours. So I am making the deadline. (: Now that I have turned the majority of you away by telling you how bad it is, the few that remain...enjoy. (:**

Prologue

It had been scarcely a month since Ozai fell.

Except for the expected news of small rebellions here and there, all was relatively quiet. Peace had graciously fallen over the world and for the past month, the world had been allowed the luxury of relaxation and happiness. After tea with Iroh in Ba Sing Se, the gaang had gone to stay with Zuko in his new palace. Zuko had rooms opened up for all of them and allowed them each a set of servants to design the room in their liking—he decided it was time for some renovation anyway and wanted them all to have a place to stay when they visited, assuming that would be quite often.

Not surprisingly upon their return, Zuko and Mai privately announced to the gaang their engagement and planned to be married in the fall. The two were already sharing a room and seemed to be perfectly matched for each other. Sokka and Suki also shared a room in the palace, though they had no immediate plans to be married. At some point Sokka mentioned that it "wasn't his style." Toph had enjoyed the luxury of the palace and the freedom it provided. As it turns out, she actually loved being treated like royalty as she once was- she just couldn't handle the smothering parents. Without anyone telling her what to do, she was living the life.

As for Aang and Katara, no one was surprised by their budding relationship. They were still new to each other in that respect and kept it simple, but nothing was stopping them from occasionally disappearing for long walks or from holding hands in mixed company. They were not a secret, but they were not making a point to put themselves on display.

Tonight was the night Zuko and Mai were to officially announce their engagement and let the nation know of their Firelord's new wife. It was more of an official celebration amongst friends after the announcement. All had been invited to a quiet dinner, and after sitting down, the feast began.

"So um…congratulations guys," Sokka said between bites. His mouth was already full, but he continued to stuff his face. Suki watched with the faintest of smiles, trying to understand how food was still able to go in. "Anyone else planning to get married soon? Huh? Toph, what about you? Your parents sure know how to throw a feast."

Toph laughed loudly. "That's great Sokka, but I think you should be asking Twinkletoes and Sweetness over there. You two are getting pretty serious, right?" Her question was very straightforward, and though Katara and Aang both blushed furiously at her comment, neither was particularly taken off guard.

"Well I-"

"Woah no," Sokka intervened, hardly looking up from his plate. "They are just friends, Toph. Don't be ridiculous." Sokka had been in denial about their whole relationship from the start, simply unwilling to give up his baby sister to anyone-even Aang.

"We are _not _just friends, Sokka! Aang and I have been together for a month," she exclaimed, regaining her nerve. Toph's straightforwardness could certainly make her uncomfortable, but she would always have a retort waiting for Sokka. Though, Sokka would not always have one waiting for her.

"Lalalalalalalalalalalala!" he sang, covering his ears with both hands. After a few moments, he resumed pulling things from his plate into his mouth with both hands. Suki answered for him. "Katara," she said, suppressing a small laugh, "I think you can tell him that all you want, but I don't think Sokka is ever going to register it."

"Well I think it's cute," Ty Lee piped in, dancing through the doorway. She had apparently been listening and decided to join them for dinner.

Katara sighed with a smile. Her brother could have all the opinions he wanted, but she would continue to do what she pleased. She reached for Aang's hand beneath the dining table and smiled at him, getting a shy smile and blush in return. "Well I'm just really happy for you guys," he said trying to change the subject. He raised his glass towards the center of the table above their heads. "To Zuko and Mai," he cheered quietly, and all repeated. "To a new nation, a new world, and new beginnings!" Katara followed, and all repeated her toast.

No sooner had their words echoed in the dining area than a great rumbling erupted in the room. The mood abruptly change and Zuko and Aang stood up simultaneously. For a moment, both expected something or someone to come crashing in and attack. But nothing came and the shaking grew more violent. "Earthquake!" Aang called and moved so that he was right next to Katara. By this point, everyone was standing and trying to find a reason that this was happening.

"No…I don't think it is…" Toph said quietly. Everyone was momentarily horrified by the look on her face. She looked confused…and scared? For Toph to be upset over what was happening with her own element was more than a little scary.

"What's happening?" Zuko asked urgently, looking at Toph with concern and grabbing hold of Mai at the same time. Though certainly capable of handling herself, Mai moved closer to him, letting him wrap his arms around her protectively. Aang and Katara did the same, and Suki attempted to move closer to Sokka, but was cut off when Ty Lee jumped into his arms crying for him to save her. When he let her go after a momentary glare from Suki, Ty Lee jumped into Toph's arms who immediately threw her into the floor with an un-amused expression.

"Toph, what's going on?" Aang finally asked, exasperated. Toph turned her head in his direction, but her mouth remained closed. She wouldn't have had time to speak anyway. The wall behind her collapsed on top of her.

She cried out as she tried to move moments before it gave way, though it was faster and she was trapped beneath the pile of rubble. Her left arm and her head were all that remained to be seen. "I can't see!" she cried, disregarding the wreckage that was crushing her tiny body. In a moment of heroism, Zuko let go of Mai and went to try and help the blind earthbender from beneath the wall. Everyone except Suki, Ty Lee, and Mai went to help. All three stood there, unsure of whether to try and help and risk getting in the way or stand back and try to watch in case of another collapse.

"How is it that everything always works out perfectly for me?" Zuko could have sworn he heard the ghostly voice directly in his ear, but when he looked up, no one had said anything.

Everything went in slow motion from that point on. "Mai, MOVE!" he shouted. From his position on the floor, he could see what she could not- the ceiling above them all giving way. The center caved in first, and the three standing fell victim. "No!" Zuko exclaimed, horrified and prepared to completely abandon Toph for his future wife. As he moved to get up, however, the remaining pieces of the ceiling came down, and everything became black.

* * *

"Firelord Zuko is alive!" a guard shouted.

"So is peasant water tribe boy Sokka!" Sokka's muffled whimpering was easy to hear and a guard swiftly picked him up. Sokka began scratching his head and getting his bearing before his eyes grew wide and his tone, serious. He looked to Zuko who was being helped to his feet, very obviously also confused and then alarmed. "The wall…" he said and they exchanged panicked looks before they both fell to the ground, digging through the mess.

"Mai! _MAI!_" Zuko cried, his words half strangled.

"Suki!" Sokka said worriedly, the tone foreign to him. "Katara? Toph! Aang?" There was a groaning somewhere to his left and he began to dig there, carefully extracting Aang from the mess. Aang looked hurt but essentially okay, and Sokka set him aside before digging more. "Come on, Aang," he called over his shoulder, hoping to arouse the younger boy. "Help me out here. Katara might be in trouble!" he said, hoping to spark some sort of adrenaline rush in Aang to get him up. "Suki might be in trouble…" he murmured to himself, quietly digging in his own person hell of uncertainty.

Sokka's words had done the trick and Aang was up in a few moments, ferociously clawing at the rubble alongside a fire nation guard. "Katara!" he cried in anguish, seeing her limp arm beneath a heavy pile of wall. He moved everything out of the way before reaching for her limp body and moving her aside. While he tended to her, she opened her eyes and looked at him. "Toph…" she choked out, obviously in pain. "I'm fine, Aang," she said breathlessly, though she was already trying to sit up. "Find Toph."

"No…" the murmur stabbed a hole in the heart of all that were in the room to hear it. All heads turned to see Zuko holding Mai's limp figure in his arms. Her broken body showed no signs of movement, and she had been terribly torn up by the fall of the ceiling. "NO!" he roared, tears beginning to stream down his face. He forgot all others in the room and stood up with her body in his arms, a guard quickly rushing to his side. "Bring me a doctor!" he shouted in the man's face. When the man continued to stare at him uneasily, Zuko lashed out. "Are you _deaf?_" he snarled. He looked like he would hit the man if his arms weren't full with his fiancée's lifeless form. "She needs a doctor!" Deciding it was just best not to argue, the man ran off to fetch a doctor, though he could already tell she was gone.

"Make that two…" Sokka choked out, his shoulders hunched forward over a separate pile of broken wall. He had unknowingly uncovered a tomb.

For there in the space beneath the floor and collapsed ceiling, Ty Lee's faded eyes-usually filled with so much life-stared up at him, unseeing. Beside her, Suki's mangled body lay limp, though positioned as if she had gone down trying to fight off the room caving in around her. Suki's face was still red with struggle, and Sokka's fiercely trembling hand moved ever so close to that redness, the backs of his fingers scarcely touching her face. The touch burned his hand, but instead of drawing his hand back, he flipped it and placed his palm against her face before it dawned on him and he slumped forward into her. "Suki…" he breathed, the familiar ache of loss slamming into his chest hard.

By this time, Katara had gotten to her feet and moved over to place a hand on her brother's shoulder. When she saw for herself Suki's body in his arm, she covered her mouth with her hand and sobbed quietly, horrified by the sight. Sokka brushed her off, not able to deal. Tears were streaming down his face, though his expression was impassive. He lifted Suki off the ground, not able to deny the lifelessness of all of the broken bones that lay in his arms. He carried her, stepping over the rubble, and left the room.

"Toph!" Aang shouted, bringing Katara's attention away from Ty Lee, who's mangled body still lay half-buried. She rushed to his side, looking at Toph's limp form. Katara brought her arms up to aid Aang in supporting her upper body, and both cried for their fallen friend.

"Ghm…" the whisper was so small Katara wasn't sure she'd heard it. She placed her ear at Toph's mouth, surprised to feel breathing against her ear. "Gahemee…"

Her mouth was barely open and her eyes remained closed, but she was murmuring something. "What is it Toph?" Katara said softly, not sure of how hurt she was at this point. After three deaths, they hadn't really thought to check. They'd just assumed the worst.

"Get off me."

"Oh."

Toph's lids parted slowly and she began to sat up. She winced in pain and put a hand to her forehead before falling backwards. "Toph, let me help you," Katara worried, reaching for her. "You're hurt."

Katara noted the blood that was coming from behind Toph's head. It wasn't gushing seriously, but it was definitely worth worrying over. Luckily, the man who had gone to fetch a doctor came in at the right moment and was accompanied by three physicians. One went to tend to Toph. Another went to check on Zuko, though Zuko was completely unresponsive, kneeling on the ground with Mai in his arms. The third doctor was assessing the damage, affirming that the fallen three were in fact dead.

They were.

The group that had traveled the world and saved it against all odds had lost three of their own in a few short moments by an unlikely but devastating earthquake.

Katara was holding up Toph's head again as one of the doctors tended to her wound, bandaging her head. "Toph, I know you might be in pain…" she could never be too sure with Toph. Still, the shock over what had just happened was too horrifying to lay unnoticed. "But what just happened?"

Aang had moved over to hold up Ty Lee's body, seeing that she was all alone in the rubble. He was crying, though he didn't know her well. How could something like this happen? He hadn't yet been able to register it all…their deaths were quick. The ceiling had caved in on them all, and the ones that remained were lucky to be alive. How was it that by chance, the three had been standing under the very piece of architecture that had killing capabilities? The rest had been hurt, but only a little. It was just strange. He let the tears roll down his face for his fallen friend as he brushed hair out of her face. He brought two fingers over her eyelids and shut them, ready to let her be at peace.

Aang couldn't quite explain the feeling inside of him. He wanted to be angry or defensive, though there was nothing he could do. For so long he had been expecting such tragedies- the loss of someone close to him. Maybe even because a roof caved in. But the war was over now and the Fire Nation was an ally. He had never expected something as ordinary as an earthquake to bring them down. He looked at Toph and waited to hear her reply to Katara.

Toph hesitated. "I…" she looked a little annoyed. "Well why are you asking me? I'm the blind one here." She seemed to realize that all at once. "Actually…what _did _happen? I can feel that the ceiling caved in, but why? I…" she looked confused and put a hand to her head. "Ugh…my head. Is everyone else okay?" Her question held no real worry- she was just asking out of necessity. In everything they'd been through together so far, no one had been lost. Certainly an earthquake would have no chance of shattering them. But her muscles froze when she heard Katara stifle a sob.

She re-evaluated the area, but had a hard time "seeing" with such uneven ground. People-guards, doctors, and friends were standing on different pieces of the collapsed ceiling and she couldn't sense them all well. But as she searched for the few in particular that she knew so well, she felt what lacked.

"Sokka?" she said, the tears already welling in her eyes. Katara put a hand on her shoulder reassuringly.

"Sokka is fine, Toph," and she could feel the blind earth bender relax. "But Suki…"

"Oh no," Toph said slowly and softly, letting her air of annoyance dissipate. She let the tears made for Sokka fall for Suki. "What about-"

"Mai and Ty Lee too," Katara choked out, trying to keep her composure. But it was a lot to take in at the moment. She was trying to stay prepared to help in any way she could, but the sudden loss of three girls she had grown so close to? Why did it happen?

She hadn't know Ty Lee or Mai as friends for very long, but in the time she had, they had bonded and both were considered members of the gaang. As for Suki, she had lost something immeasurable. A best friend, a sister, even. She knew that she would lose part of a brother as well- Sokka couldn't handle losing her, and Katara knew it.

Toph finally managed to sit up, Katara helping to support her. "Aang, what happened?" It seemed appropriate to ask the Avatar of all people when something so bizarre happened.

Aang was wiping tears from his face, but did his best to keep his voice steady. "I don't know, Toph. I thought it was an earthquake. But you said it wasn't before the roof collapsed. Why don't you tell me?"

Toph ignored the slight edge to his tone, assuming he was upset he couldn't have done anything. Aang wanted to be able to help absolutely everyone, just like he was born to do. But he seemed to be the only one who didn't realize that he just couldn't do everything.

Toph felt around for any faint pulses from the ones pronounced dead.

He couldn't save everyone.

Toph shook her head. "I said what now?"

Aang's frustration showed in his eyes, but Katara answered for him, the patience seeping from her lips. "Toph, before the roof fell, when everything was shaking, Aang shouted earthquake. It sure felt like one, but you said you didn't think it was. We just want to know what you think it was."

Toph looked upset. "Katara…I don't remember that." She squeezed her eyes tightly and looked like she would cry more. She seemed terribly upset. "I…I don't remember anything! Ugh. What's wrong with me? I know the roof caved in, but I…I don't remember it happening…"

Katara looked a little concerned. "Well what's the last thing you remember, Toph?"

"Marriage discussions. We were at Zuko and Mai's party, and we were talking about you and Aang getting hitched." There was hardly any humor in her voice.

Katara didn't flinch. "Yes, and after that we had a toast. And then everything started shaking, and-"

"Katara, I don't remember, okay?" Toph's voice rose as she interrupted, something sparking anger in her. She got to her feet quickly and began to stumble, but Katara steadied her before being pushed away. "And I don't need your help. I'm fine, okay?" her voice lowered a small bit, but it was obvious she didn't want to be fussed over any more. She had had about all that she could take at the moment.

"Alright," Katara said, and moved to go kneel by Aang. "How could this happen?" she whispered, more to herself than to him as she knelt and placed a hand behind Ty Lee's unmoving head. She could feel where her neck was limp from her crushed spine, and felt the need to throw up. Not as much from the thought of a shattered spine, but more from the thought that her friend had died in such a horrific manner. "I'm sorry, Aang," she said, getting up to leave him with her. "I can't." She covered her mouth and left the room, unable to bear the sight of the friends she couldn't do anything for. She had nothing special to heal with, nothing to give…she just felt helpless and overwhelmed.

When she was in the hallway, she collapsed against the wall, bringing her knees to her chin, and sobbed into her palms.

* * *

Their funerals were quick and quiet.

Their deaths had been so unexpected that no one had the heart left to deal with their burial. They were not extravagant, nor were they entirely proper. Just a small gathering of family and close friends to say farewell.

Zuko and Sokka had avoided everyone since the earthquake. They had barely eaten or slept, both choosing to be alone.

Aang hadn't said a word.

After the funeral's were done, Katara walked out into the courtyard with the turtleduck pond. The tree that had once stood beside it was uprooted and lay on its side, having scattered dirt and twigs everywhere. Katara couldn't think of a sadder sight.

That was, until she saw Aang sitting at the edge of the pond, his face serene but tears streaming down it.

She sat beside him silently, not getting too close. Even though Zuko and Sokka had experienced a great personal loss, Katara knew that Aang couldn't handle death. Especially not someone he truly cared about. She was sure he was troubled over what he could have done for them. How he could have helped in some way. She was sure he knew in his heart that there was nothing he could have done, but his mind was screaming otherwise. She knew him well enough to know that for this, he was suffering inside.

"Hey Aang," she greeted him quietly and sadly, looking at him with tearful eyes. As most days went, it had been an emotional one. As always, she knew something was bothering him. Unlike most other times, however, she knew exactly what it was. "You want to talk about it?"

"No," he said truthfully and calmly. "I don't." It was obvious he wasn't at all angry with her for asking. If anything, he was grateful for the company . Both were silent , staring into the reflection of the pond. All that could be seen was the clear blue sky above. Serene and bright, the warm sun filling it to the brim with life and beauty. The sky was untouched and unbroken, holding no signs that in the faraway universe above their heads, the sky had been broken too. It was just calm.

"I…I keep thinking there was something I could have done." Katara felt her own tears come as she saw the muscles in Aang's face twitch in his proud effort to not let forth a sob. After a moment or two though, he seemed to remember he was with Katara. If anyone, he could let himself cry easily in front of her. He buried his face into his knees as he brought them to his chest. "I know it sounds stupid…but I'm the Avatar. It's my job to save people. To help them. All this was…it was just an earthquake… Katara, how could I not have helped them? I can bend every element. I could have stopped the roof from caving in…but I just let it hit me."

"Aang, no one blames you. No one knew what was going on. No one saw the roof coming down until it was on top of us." She reached out hesitantly to touch his arm and was grateful when he responded by moving a little closer. "I know how you must feel…for so long, everything bad that's happened has come from some_one. _There's always something easy to blame, someone to go after, something to be fixed. But you have to see that this was just a horrible accident… It can't be prevented, and it can't be fixed."

Aang hardly registered her words, though he knew they were exactly what he needed to hear. He knew she was right, but he couldn't help but feel like there was more he could have done. He wasn't blaming himself for the roof caving in or even for the deaths of his three friends. He just blamed himself for not being able to do anything. For feeling helpless.

"Thank you, Katara," he said, though he still did not turn and look at her, nor did his voice hold any sort of emotion. "But I think I just need to be alone."

When he didn't look at her still, Katara nodded and rose to her feet, turning to leave. She wasn't hurt by his words; she understood why he wanted to be alone. But _she _didn't. She just wanted to be close to him. She needed some sort of comfort in the aftermath of this harsh blow.

"Katara, wait," he said, and when she turned he was on his feet looking at her. Though his eyes met her, they were looking through her, and she could still tell he wasn't all there. "I'm sorry…I know you just want to help me. It's just that…"

"No, Aang," she reassured. "I understand. I really do. You need to be alone right now. You have a lot to think about. I just want you to know that…well…" she looked at him with tender, caring eyes. "You don't have to do it alone." She opened her mouth to continue about how none of it was really his fault and how he shouldn't have to dwell over what was not his responsibility, but she was interrupted.

His lips crushed hers with insatiable need and she responded, letting herself be wrapped in his arms. His right hand rested at the nape of her neck while his left arm snaked around her waist and held her close, just wanting to be near her. Both of her arms wrapped around his neck, pulling him towards her. Their kiss was not so much romantic or full of lust as it was comforting. Knowing that they were both still there. Katara's hand's moved about the side of his face, seeming to affirm this; as if she were checking to make sure that he, too, were still there.

They were cut short when Toph cleared her throat from the other side of the courtyard. "I don't mean to interrupt," she said, her voice barely holding on to a sarcastic tone. But she surprisingly dropped it a moment later. "but we really need to get Sokka out of here. I don't want to have to be the one to force us back into reality, but ," she said, her voice suddenly strong and full of conviction. It was like a mini-speech. She would later kick herself for sounding like Katara. "we have to move on. I know it's been a terrible loss, but we have to keep each other going. Aang, I think now would be a good time to go and settle all the riots breaking out in the Fire Nation colonies in the Earth Kingdom. I never thought I'd say it, but we just need something to _do. _We need to get busy again. So vacation time is over, Twinkletoes," she said, a slightly joking tone coming back into her voice. She sounded hopeful. And hopeful was what they all needed. At this point, they just needed to keep moving forward.

"We need to head out."

* * *

**Also, I am seeing now that when I uploaded this document, a lot of words were randomly deleted? So please excuse typos for the time being. I'm trying to find what changed...**

**The two main ones I have fixed, so I am just going to repost this story. I'm sorry if you looked at it twice. :P**

**Also, about the whole killing three characters in one blow...I promise. I'm going somewhere with this. (: **

**Again, constructive criticism (any at all!) is greatly appreciated.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I am just going to go ahead and say a few things. One, there might be some serious things wrong with this chapter. My documents are losing bits and pieces in the transition, it seems. But I am working on that. Two, about all of the ages here…I am playing around with them. Please keep an open mind when I do this. Since no one's birthday is mentioned, it is possible that they could overlap and ages could be closer together or further apart than originally told…if that makes sense. So just work with me here, please. (:**

Chapter Two

_Five Years Later_

Two days short of his seventieth birthday, he died quietly in his sleep.

The doctor said it was completely natural. He was getting older, and he had spent so many years out of shape, his heart had just been tired of working.

Zuko had taken it quite well, all things considered. He loved his uncle dearly, but the death was neither horrific, nor completely unexpected. Though most people thought he would end up rivaling Sozin's long lifespan, Iroh had fallen short and had a heart attack in the middle of the night. Zuko was told that his uncle had felt no pain, and he was sure that he had died happy. No regrets.

The funeral was planned for the next day, and everyone was invited. Zuko was sitting in his study awaiting any members of the gaang to arrive. He was browsing through old things he had kept over the years that were his uncle's. A few letters he had sent during his years as a general, various tea cups, and not surprisingly, a White Lotus Pai Sho tile. He turned the piece over in his hand, losing himself in thought and not realizing someone was at his door.

"Knock, knock, Firelord," she teased. Zuko dropped the tile and let his head snap up, surprised to see the first person who arrived.

"_Toph?_" he said, incredulous. He hardly recognized the little blind girl he hadn't seen for five years. At seventeen, she was about a head and a half taller than she had been the last time she had seen her-five years ago. And she looked _very_ different.

The whole gaang had kept in touch through letters and whatnot, but for the most part they had stayed away. Zuko, for example had been obligated to stay at the palace in the Fire Nation and oversee post-war matters. By now, almost everything had settled down, but his work was far from over. He had never quite gotten past Mai's death, but for the most part he had moved on. He'd just never looked for anyone else.

Sokka had travelled for about two years before he'd been able to go back to Kyoshi island. It was a very anti-climactic experience to say the least. Without Suki or Ty Lee there, he was very out of place and soon left. After wandering a bit more, he ended up at Piandao's door who hired him as an apprentice. He'd been happy there, training and improving his swordsmanship. Forgetting. Moving on. Moving forward.

Aang had been obligated to be out in the world, bringing peace to places that couldn't find it even after the war. He'd settled many problems people had with the sudden happiness that seemed to envelop the world. People weren't killing or being killed, and everyone and everything was starting to recover. Katara, who felt that her place was with Aang, traveled with him, and their relationship flourished. Aang was now eighteen and Katara had just turned twenty. For her birthday, Aang had proposed.

She said yes.

"Is that all you have to say?" Toph asked, interrupting his thoughts of his friends. The twinge of jealousy at the thought of Aang and Katara's happiness together disappeared as he was brought back to earth.

In truth, that was all he had to say to Toph for the moment. He was beyond shocked at her new look. Taller and leaner, she simply looked older in the shape of her body, (something he made a point to try and not notice). Hard as he tried, though, he couldn't let it escape his notice that just her face, unseeing gaze and all, was…well…pretty.

He cleared his throat and stood, walking over to her. "It's…er…it's great to see you Toph. You look so…different."

She had come dressed for a funeral in her own way. She was wearing a dress-something Zuko had never seen her in before. It touched the floor, but the straps and fabric were appropriate for the Fire Nation summer weather. The dress was not black as was normal for a funeral, but a dark shade of green. Her headband remained the same for all that he could tell, but she no longer wore her hair up, and loose, it easily reached the small of her back; beautiful, black, and full of waves and subtle curls.

"I'm sorry to hear about your uncle," she said, not seeming to have heard his comment. Her voice wasn't full of concern, but there was a hint of sincerity in the way she said it. "He was really a great man."

Zuko remembered that she had shared a cup of tea with Iroh on more than one occasion. He was her loss, too.

"He was a great man," Zuko agreed. "He lived a great life."

"He helped make you a great man. I know he died very proud of you." Zuko didn't respond to her words as they were so unlike her and just looked back on his desk at the Lotus tile. He knew his uncle was proud of him. He truly believed it. His uncle was his teacher, his friend, his…his father.

For the last few years, Iroh had become his father. He had been more of a father to Zuko than Ozai ever had, and though Zuko tried not to show it, the loss really hurt.

He opened his mouth to thank her, but the conversation was cut short. "Where's my favorite Firelord?" Sokka's head popped up in the doorway. Zuko caught the widening of his eyes when he saw Toph and how she looked. He recovered quickly and ran in the doorway to hug Toph. "And my favorite earthbender!" He picked her up off the ground (something she hated) and danced with her stuck in his arms. While she could have easily removed him, she laughed and squealed instead before reaching up to hug him as he set her down.

"Sokka!" she exclaimed, her hands suddenly running all over his head. He looked uncomfortable but not upset. "Your hair!" she laughed and Zuko observed how different he looked.

He kept his wolf tail, though it had grown out, and the rest of his hair fell loose around him. It nearly touched his shoulders, and Zuko noted that the look suited him. He also noted that Sokka had pierced his ears—a small gold ring on either ear, and though he had no real facial hair to speak of, he had the beginnings of a small beard.

He looked a lot like his father.

"Different, huh?" he asked, pulling back and moving over to hug Zuko. Zuko was again uncomfortable with the hugs, but embraced his friend nonetheless.

"Katara, we're just in time for group hugs!" Aang's familiar (though a bit deeper) cheerful voice caught everyone's attention and he and Katara walked into the room.

"Oh yeah! Team Avatar, reunited at last!" Sokka cheered, letting go of Zuko immediately to bear hug his sister.

"Sokka…" Katara said, surprised at how much he looked like a young Hakoda, though dressed in fire nation garb from Piandao's. "You look so…different." She smiled at the funny face he made, unsure of whether or not that had been a compliment. "It's great to see you again," she laughed and hugged him close once more.

Meanwhile, Aang and Toph were hugging and sharing a similar conversation. "Toph, you look so different!"

"Good to see forgot her completely differen you again too, Twinkletoes!" she laughed.

Katara piped in, "You really do, Toph. You look so pretty now!..." Toph's lack of response earned a sheepish response from Katara before she hugged her. "…not that you weren't beautiful before!" She pulled her into a hug to stop the conversation before needed to put her foot in her mouth.

Toph laughed. "Well you all don't seem to have changed a bit! Especially you, Katara," she laughed, hugging her friend back as she blushed. Sokka didn't miss his chance in jumping into the hug, and was followed by Aang. After a glare from Sokka, Zuko joined in.

The gaang was reunited at last.

If only for a happier occasion.

The funeral went by without issue.

It was private and peaceful, and Zuko thought it would be exactly what he wanted.

"And so we send General Iroh's spirit into the wind, to another world," said the sage as they began to cremate his body. "The Dragon of the West shall continue on in the Spirit World, watching this one from a greater place and helping to maintain balance. May his spirit live on."

The closing words of the ceremony brought tears to Zuko's eyes, though he continued to stand proud and tall. He was the Firelord now, and while it was okay to mourn his uncle's passing, he would have to ignore the gaping hole it left in his heart.

Sensing his inner anguish, Toph reached out a hand and grabbed Zuko's clenched fist, making it relax and receive her own. They stood hand in hand as they watched the dancing flames. They couldn't see Iroh's body being burned, but they knew it was there. His form was barely visible, wrapped in fine cloths from head to toe and placed in a hole in the ground before being covered by branches and dry sticks to help the fire. Firebenders were spreading the fire evenly around, making sure he would be fully cremated when the ceremony was through.

For the most part, the small audience watched in silence. There were hushed whispers here and there, but for the most part they all said goodbye in silence.

When most everyone had wandered back to the palace, Zuko and Toph remained close to the dying fire, not having moved since it had begun. Other people, including Katara, Aang, and Sokka, were close by, talking and reminiscing in hushed tones. Toph and Zuko still hadn't said a word to each other. Nor had they let their hands separate.

Toph finally spoke up. "You okay?"

Zuko again marveled at how much she had changed. Something had made her very different in the past five years. He could tell that her old self was still there, just…suppressed? It was like she had just learned to use restraint. Something very un-Toph like. He decided to play along for now.

"I'm fine," he said in his usual gruff manner. Then he softened. "I'm just really going to miss him."

"We all will," she said, giving his hand a gentle squeeze.

As soon as the words left her mouth, a great rumbling began beneath their feet. Zuko recognized the feeling at once as the same that had taken Mai away.

"Earthquake!" Sokka shouted, his tone serious. He remembered the feeling as well.

"No! Not an earthquake," Toph said, and there was a look of recognition on her face. "I…remember now!" By this time, Sokka, Katara, and Aang had all made their way over to her. "This isn't an earthquake," she said and pulling up the bottom of her dress so she wouldn't trip, she sprinted off into thicker trees.

Zuko couldn't help but think it was oddly humorous to watch her pick up her dress—the length had been hiding the fact that she wasn't wearing any shoes.

Without thinking, the rest followed her.

Running did not do anything to stop the earth's violent shaking. Although Toph would usually know best about things like this, Sokka was more than a little uneasy about all the tall trees that surrounded them. One could easily be uprooted and crush them all in one blow. "Toph, we have to take cover!" he said, grabbing her arm. In milliseconds, a strip of earth was bended from the ground to knock his arm out of the way with an audible crack.

"Owwwww!" Sokka complained. "What was that for? We need to take cover!"

"Maybe Sokka is right, Toph! It isn't stopping!" Katara yelled out to her.

"No," Aang disagreed, looking at Katara and Sokka's worried faces. "She knows what she's doing." He looked up ahead at her. "This is the Toph I remember."

If it was in fact an earthquake, it was curiously long and violent. Zuko was beginning to feel the effects of it as he began to become lightheaded and dizzy. The fierce shaking had gone on for around five minutes and they had been running for about the same amount of time. "Toph, where are we going?" He tried to sound annoyed as he shouted over the rumbling at her, but uneasiness slipped through his tone. He was already stumbling over his feet a little.

Just as he spoke, the earthquake ended. The end brought him to his knees because it was so abrupt and Sokka reached to help him to his feet quickly—Toph wasn't slowing down.

As quickly as the earthquake had ended, the trees ended a few moments later. They had come upon a rocky terrain that Zuko recognized instantly. When he saw it, he couldn't help but feel shocked. The mini volcano-like structure that should have been in the middle of all the nothingness that lay before him was no longer there.

"The prison…" he said, and Aang suddenly realized what should have been there, too. "My father…Azula…" Zuko said quietly. He looked all around, making sure he wasn't mistaking the place. When they got a bit closer (now walking) he could see that he was correct about the place.

The remnants of the prison that held all the family he had left were apparent, and it was difficult for him to take in. Zuko did not love his father, nor did he love his sister, but they were still his family. He was worried, but he wasn't sure exactly why.

"What was that, Toph? What happened here?" Aang was worried by the look on Zuko's face.

"I remember," she said. "The feeling was just the same as before, when…" she considered the feelings of the others, all having lost someone dear to them that day. "Five years ago," she rephrased, "when there was that earthquake, it felt exactly the same. That's because it wasn't an earthquake at all."

"Then what was it?" Katara inquired, surprised by this statement and hurt by the painful memories it brought.

"I can't say for sure…" she pondered and knelt to put her palms to the ground, trying to sense anything that could clue her in. "I don't really know," she sighed. "It didn't shake like the earth, but it was close. It was like something exploded underground. But not even that. It was like the earth was being attacked from everywhere at once. I can't even explain it…it was like someone…or some_thing _was attacking…ugh. Well I don't even know what they were attacking. The earth, maybe. A lot of good that will do." She seemed very upset about it.

Aang knelt beside her and put a hand on her shoulder. "Are you sure?" When she nodded, he questioned her again. "What do you think it could have been?"

She looked uneasy for a moment and then tilted her head in his direction. "I really can't say…but…" she sighed. "It felt like earthbending to me. I can't explain it, but that's how I could 'see' while I was running. The earth wasn't just shaking, it was moving. I could follow what was going on underground, so I could tell where I was going. It was just so strange. I just really think it was earthbending, guys."

"So what?" Zuko asked, not understanding at all. "We just need to find some crazy powerful earthbender and find out what his deal is." It seemed simple enough.

"Zuko, you don't understand." Toph stood up again. "That 'earthquake' shook the majority of the Fire Nation. I don't know that any bender in the world could do something like that. It would have to be more like an earthbending force. My guess is it is a lot of earthbenders. Lots and lots of powerful ones."

Everyone thought the same thing, then. Only Sokka said it out loud with surprise.

"Could it be the Dai Li?"

Katara sighed, not wanting to think the worst. "Sokka, no one has seen the Dai Li in-"

"-Five years…" Zuko interrupted, sounding decided. "It's them. It has to be." He thought for a moment more about what their motive would be. "Come on," he said, and took off towards the collapsed prison.

Upon closer inspection, it looked as if it had not just simply fallen, but imploded. Almost nothing appeared to be left of it. The rock covered most of the structure and only a few red pieces of the building could be seen.

"Split up," Zuko said, quietly taking charge of the situation. "Look for survivors, and be careful."

Katara and Aang went off in one direction together and Sokka went in another. Toph knelt and felt the ground before pointing off in a direction where there was only rubble. "There are two still alive over there." She stood and walked to the direction she pointed and Zuko decided to follow- his emotions a mixture of hope and nerves.

He began to dig in the mess, and couldn't help but feel a twinge of sadness. The last time he had felt this way he was digging for Mai. What was left of her, anyway.

He felt an arm and wrapped his hand around it. With his other arm, he braced himself and heaved the man up from the rock. Laying him down a few feet away, Toph stood over him and watched. When he didn't stir, she put her bare foot on his face and pushed. "Wake up, sleepy head." She noticed he was a guard.

When Zuko dragged the second man, also a guard, from the mess, he was a little more conscious.

"Wh…what happened?" he said groggily.

"There was an earthquake," Zuko said, glancing at Toph for a second, though her face did not change. "I think you hit your head." As he spoke, Zuko ripped off part of his own sleeve to make a wrap around the man's bleeding head. "Did you see anything before the prison fell?"

The man was still only half conscious and was looking in every direction but Zuko's. This news seemed to upset him. "Fell? What do you mean? It can't." He began to mumble. "It houses the most exclusive prisoners of the fire nation. The kind that can't be trusted to be around normal criminals. High offenses means that this place is heavily guarded and well-built…can't have fallen…"

"I'm sorry to say it did," Zuko confirmed, and the man finally looked at him. He looked scared of the news before he actually saw Zuko's face. His consciousness came back in a hurry, then.

"Firelord Zuko!" he exclaimed, trying to rush to his feet.

"It's alright," Zuko said, putting a hand to his shoulder and forcing him back on the ground. "You need to lie down." That seemed to do the trick and upon impact, the guard's eyes shut and he looked just like the one beside him.

Katara and Aang walked up then, one on either side of a guard who was having trouble standing. They were helping him to walk with what appeared to be a broken leg. "Guys!" Katara shouted. "This man saw what happened!"

As they came upon them, they set the man down so he could sit. "What did you see?" Zuko commanded, not wasting time. The man saw him and tried to scramble to his feet to salute his Firelord, but Zuko knocked his hand out of the way, impatient. "Never mind that! What did you see?" He was practically shouting in the man's face.

"Easy there, Firelord," Toph said half-jokingly as she put a hand on his shoulder. "Cool down."

Zuko was terribly impatient though, and hardly moved away. The man wasted no time.

"It only collapsed on my leg, so I was able to see everything. I was keeping watch on the third floor," he said, and Zuko recognized that was the floor Ozai was on. "I was one of today's guards for your father's cell, Firelord Zuko," he mentioned, not sure how to address Ozai. Firelord would be inappropriate, but he still didn't think using his name alone was correct. "Anyway," he said, barely taking a breath, "I was standing guard at his cell when the earthquake began. I and a few other guards crouched towards one of the inner walls for shelter, but none of us thought the building would give way. When it did, everything went under. It was just sudden and devastating…just a tidal wave of destruction," he said, remembering. By the look on his face, it must have been something to witness.

"When we hit the ground, the shaking continued for a few minutes. I could barely see over into his cell." He looked at Zuko, not really sure what to say. "I don't really know what happened, but somehow while we fell, the bars to his cell snapped in half."

"The impact must have thrown him and the bars against the wall because when all was still…" He looked at Zuko, not sure he should continue. He did anyway. "Firelord Zuko, I'm very sorry to have to tell you that your father was killed by the earthquake. The bars impaled his chest and shoulders and pinned him to the wall of his cell."

Zuko sank to a sitting position, though he didn't appear to be grieving. He just seemed overwhelmed.

"Is that all you saw?" he asked importantly. "Are you sure there was nothing…no one else?"

The guard hesitated a moment, more unsure about what he was about to say. "Yes sir…no sir…"

he said, still not sure.

"Well, which is it?" Zuko asked, again impatient.

"I am not sure, sir. It isn't possible and I certainly don't mean to incriminate anyone…but…" he sighed. "Sir, the whole prison was destroyed," and looked to the rubble for reassurance of this. "You know who was housed in the top floor. Like I said, I really can't be at all sure of what I saw. But when I realized your father was certainly dead, I looked around and for a brief moment…I thought I saw your sister." He quickly decided to change his story. "But her back was turned to me, and it could have easily been anyone else."

"No," Zuko said, and Katara looked particularly upset at his expression. "No. It was her. I knew it, _I knew it._" He spoke as he stood up. "I just needed confirmation was all. It has to be."

Aang, always trying to be positive, put a hand on his shoulder and gripped it tightly. "Maybe he was wrong, Zuko. It all could be one big accident. Everyone could be absolutely wrong and this is all just a big mistake."

"No. But that was a good try, Avatar."

The voice from behind was recognized before they all turned to face her. Zuko was the only one who acknowledged her out loud.

"Azula."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I want to start off by saying thank you! I love all the positive feedback I am getting on this story. (: You guys are great, and definitely boosting my self-confidence seeing as I think I have done a horrible job with this so far. It just makes me smile so much to read the reviews you've written. Also, once again, there will be mistakes. Some of them are my bad, but some of them is just something weird going on with my computer. I'm trying to fix this, though. (: I hope you enjoy this chapter! (Also, I am playing around with the fire kingdom setup here. This is just going by the brief shots from The Day of Black Sun: Part 1. I'm sorry if it isn't perfect, but I'm trying. ;))**

Chapter Three

"Zuzu, how good to see you again. It's been too long," Azula's mocking voice was as patronizing as ever.

"Yeah," Zuko agreed quietly, though his voice was full of rage and hate. He moved into a fighting stance and with his arms out to the sides let his palms begin to swell with fire. "Too long."

"Now, now," she said with a sly smile and stepped towards him. Her arms were crossed in front of her and Zuko was mad to think she looked well. They were standing amongst the ruins of the prison that had held her for the past five years. The mental facility was supposedly keeping her under control, but it seemed as though she was a little more in control than anyone expected. "There's no need to get upset."

"No need!" Sokka scoffed. His tone was livid. "You did this! Which means you caused the earthquake before this one!" It hadn't taken him long at all to piece it together. He hid it well, but she was all that was on his mind. "You killed Suki!" Saying it out loud brought tears to his eyes and rekindled the pain in his heart. He didn't think, he just pulled out his sword (acquired from his time with Piandao) and charged her. She moved to step out of his way but misjudged him—he was not the foolish fighter he once was. He whipped around and threw his full strength into the blow intended for her. She saw this, however, and decided to take the offensive.

With a swift move of her arm, she pushed him out of the way with a surprising amount of force. He barely hit the ground before he was up and trying to get to her again. He only wanted to cause her bodily harm. He wanted to kill her.

"Sokka, stop it!" Katara shouted at him. "She's dangerous!"

When Sokka appeared to be annoying her and nothing more, Aang felt that he needed to step in. He bended the earth beneath Sokka's feet so that it took him back like a wave to where he and Katara were standing. Sokka still tried to get away, but Aang wasted no time in wrapping his arms around Sokka's to restrain him. Aang was seventeen now and though he was still younger than Sokka, Aang was a fully grown man, not to mention a fully realized Avatar, and could restrain him.

"Calm down, Sokka. You're going to hurt yourself." This time it was Toph who spoke, though she didn't turn around to face him. She was standing a few feet behind Zuko, 'watching' Azula.

Her comment hurt more than she'd intended it to. Sokka had already lost it, and though he was constantly fighting Toph, her little put down snapped something inside of him. "Me!" His face actually scared Katara when he looked over. He lost it. Aang's face was calm as he restrained his friend, trying to remain emotionally detached. "SHE KILLED SUKI!" he practically dry-sobbed. "She killed Suki! What would you have me do, Toph? Nothing! Oh, that's right. That's what I should you! That's what you would do because you have no one to lose! You have no one! Katara has Aang, Zuko had Mai, and I had SUKI!" he said, screaming Suki's name at Azula who was still watching, her face actually a little amused. "But Toph, you never had anyone! You are just bitter! But I actually felt something for someone! And she took it away! Azula took her away from me!"

There was a moment of calm where the only sound was Sokka's grunting as he tried to free himself from Aang's grip.

"Well as touching as that emotional outburst was, there was no need for it." Azula was smiling.

"What do you mean, Azula?" Zuko asked, calm but accusing. It was silently decided that Sokka's outburst wouldn't be acknowledged. No one was looking to see how Toph took it. Sokka had sort of hit below the belt. "You killed her." It wasn't a question. "You caused these earthquakes and you killed them all. Suki, Ty Lee," he said, and then his face grew impassive completely. "Mai."

She smiled in a way that made chills go down Katara's spine. "Well actually," she began, "You're half right. You see, Mai and Ty Lee were traitors. I trusted them. They were on my side and they betrayed me. So they deserved to be punished. I waited a short amount of time after you supposedly locked me away and had them attacked-"

"-How?" Zuko demanded, interrupting.

"Oh, I might as well tell you. You figured it out anyway. The Dai Li are just as loyal to me now as they ever were. I don't know what I'd do without them." She smiled and two Dai Li agents emerged behind her and flanked her, standing quietly with their hand folded behind their backs. "Now, as I was saying, I had them attacked. So as not to be too obvious, the Dai Li created a pretend earthquake. It was planned that they would collapse the building directly on top of Ty Lee and Mai. Of course, it was executed perfectly. The punch line is," she said, her smile not leaving her lips as she looked directly at Sokka, "it was just by chance that they killed your little girlfriend."

"She was just standing in the wrong place at the absolute wrong time. She wasn't important to me at all, but if I had known that this would be the effect…" she smiled and looked over his crazed expression, "I might have planned differently."

Sokka screamed loudly and tried his hardest to get free, but Aang was strong enough to hold him back. It was a sad sight.

"What about me hitting my head?" Toph asked, seemingly unaffected by Sokka's comment. "Was that a plan too or was it just a 'punch line'?"

"Actually," she said, her smile growing even more wicked, "it was neither. I told them to try and take out your feet. They couldn't crush them easily enough, but your head sufficed."

"My feet?" she asked, though her tone wasn't quite as serious as before. "You tried to blind the blind girl? That's just messed up." She crossed her arms over her chest and shook her head with pity.

"Enough!" Zuko was tired of all of it. He was angry, and he wanted more answers. "So what exactly are you trying to accomplish, Azula? You killed Mai and Ty Lee because they went against you. What was this second earthquake about?" He was tired of all the talking. He just wanted answers.

She laughed aloud. "All in due time, ZuZu." For a brief moment, her eyes flashed to meet Katara's for a brief moment. "All in due time."

She flashed them all the tiniest of smiles before the ground opened up beneath her feet and she and the two Dai Li agents disappeared beneath the earth.

"They're gone," Toph said before anyone could question her. She wasn't surprised at all by the fact, but once they vanished underground, they disappeared beyond her senses completely.

Aang waited about ten more seconds before finally releasing Sokka. Instead of running forward like he had been trying to do, the moment he was released he fell to the ground. He put his face in his hands and breathed heavily, unable to think of anything else to do.

While the others watched with emotions ranging from anxiety to help him (Aang), and discomfort (Zuko), Katara knelt beside him to try and console him. "Sokka?" She wasn't sure if he was even listening at this point. "Sokka, she's gone."

When she reached to put her hand on his shoulder, he jerked away, staying still on his hands and knees. It scared Katara to say the least. He had never acted like this before. She could only assume that it was bottled up rage and hurt from all the years he'd spent trying to get over losing Suki.

"Let's just give him some space. Leave him alone." It was Zuko who suggested this.

"Yeah," Toph agreed, though her voice was very, very quiet. Aang couldn't help but think of how very different she sounded. "We should just leave him alone."

Katara looked sad, also recognizing Toph's tone as unusual. "Toph, what Sokka said…he was hurt and he didn't-"

Toph interrupted. "No, Katara. Don't." Her tone was firm again and she sounded like she always had. Like she didn't want Katara's pity. Like she didn't want any of their pity. Like it didn't really bother her at all. The only thing that bothered her was the fact that she could feel herself being stared at. That they were all not sure how she had taken Sokka's harsh words. That she was the focus of attention at the moment when there were much more pressing issues. That Azula's appearance had caused all hell to break loose.

She turned on her heel and began to walk away. "I'm going back to the palace. When he's done wallowing in self-pity, you guys might want to come too." She paused for a moment, her voice growing almost grave. "They need a lot of help there. She caused a good amount of damage."

When they were all back at the palace, everyone had a job to do. Everyone except Sokka, that is, who was locked in his room, assumedly resting. He hadn't spoken to anyone since he had practically lost his mind in the woods. He didn't want to, and no one expected him to.

Zuko, as the Firelord, was attending to what was lost, what needed to be repaired immediately, and all the injured and dead that needed to be dealt with. He hadn't realized how devastating the earthquake was until they arrived back at the palace. It was at least ten times worse as the one that had taken place five years prior. Many were dead. Many more were injured.

While Zuko was firing away orders, trying to organize everything in the midst of such utter destruction, Aang was away from the palace, finding people who were alive, and some who were not. He was bringing the living to the palace to be worked on by Katara. She was trying to go fast to help them all, but there was only so much she could do.

Toph was doing much the same as Aang was, though she was mostly finding the dead. She could feel much deeper into the ruin than he could and detect what was there—and what wasn't.

The strange thing was, Azula had avoided hitting much of the palace. Some of the pillars in the very front had been brought down, but the palace remained intact.

The rest of the city was in ruins.

It was several hours until the sun started going down and people were harder to find. They were all exhausted and neither Toph nor Aang could detect anyone else. Katara was still healing fast and Toph was assisting her in any way she could. Aang was trying to reunite families. He delivered a lot of terrible news.

"Please, sir," said a woman to Aang, "You have to find my baby! Please!" She was crying but desperately hurt herself. She was trying to get up, but could only lay there.

"Ma'am, we're doing all we can," he said, trying to be polite and reassuring.

"Please, please! My little Zaria! She's all I have!"

All around him, others began to shout, asking him for help. They all wanted him to find their loved ones or help them not feel the pain. He stood lowly and went to Katara who could hardly pay attention to him. She was busily working on injuries. Toph was keeping her supplied with water and other things she might need. "Katara, I'm going back. I have to make sure we got everyone."

Katara's hands momentarily paused over her work but quickly picked up the pace again. He knelt to see her face, sweat causing her hair to stick to her forehead. Her eyes were intense with the concentration she was using in her work, but she didn't seem as though she would take a break anytime soon. "Be careful, Aang," she said quietly and let him kiss her on the cheek.

"You too." The words were barely audible as he opened his glider and sailed away.

When he finally got into the city, he landed and began to walk. He let his fingers trail on the broken sides of buildings, the ruined homes: all of it destroyed. Occasionally he walked by a body, but he was too emotionally drained to ferry the dead back now. They weren't going anywhere.

The more he walked, the less he found. No more bodies, no more sounds, just nothing alive. He put out a few small fires that were left, but that was all he could find.

When he began to head back on foot, he heard a few animals inside a half-collapsed building. Thinking hopefully, Aang entered and looked around. He heard what sounded like some sort of bird behind a door that had fallen from its frame. Deciding he could at least set the bird free, he moved the door. Instead, there was just junk underneath the door. Cloth, wood; remnants of whatever had been in the room. But the bird still called to him, so he dug.

As he rummaged through the junk, he hit the bird and it cried out loudly- it's call sounding distorted and unusual.

"No," he whispered to himself, disbelieving. He moved the cloth around what he had hit and his suspicions were confirmed.

A little baby lay before him, naked and crying.

She was covered in dust and ash, writhing uncomfortably on the wood and cloth. He wasted no time in picking her up and wrapping her in what appeared to be clothing. Aang tried to comfort her, horrified by having found her. What if he hadn't come back?

He soothed her crying quickly and her petite fingers grabbed for his. He reached to let her have his finger, but stopped himself. He noticed that his hands were covered with blood. Blood, ash, dust. He withdrew his hand and used it to help cradle the infant in his arms.

"Come on," he said smiling at her. "Let's get you home."

"Aang!"

Having to have walked the whole way back for the sake of the baby wrapped fully in his arms, Aang looked pretty tired. His expression lightened when he looked up and saw Katara calling his name and hurrying towards him.

She threw her arms around his neck, not realizing what was in his arms. "Aang," she said, her voice close to tears. "I can't. I can't keep going. I healed everyone I could, but I just can't…"

Aang understood and put his free arm around her. There was so much death here. They hadn't realized what Azula had done at first, but she had destroyed a community. Destroyed families and lives. It was just horrific. "It's okay, Katara. You don't have to." He knew what sort of emotional toll this would take on her. He pulled away from her gently and offered her a smile. "But I do need your help with something."

She stared at him oddly before she saw what he was unwrapping in his arms. "Oh, Aang…" she said, her hands resting over the naked child. "Where did you find her?" She reached out and took her from Aang, holding her more properly. She'd had much more experience with babies than he had.

"In some building," he said, though it was a little self-explanatory where he would have found her. "Is she okay? I think I might know where her mother is."

"She's fine," Katara confirmed, already captivated by the baby. It made Aang smile to see that it made her almost happy in such a time of tragedy. "Where can we find her?" she asked, referring hopefully to her mother.

Aang led Katara to where the mother was. She looked just as distressed as she did earlier, but a little less hurt. She saw Aang and immediately started talking. "Did you find her? Did you find my baby?"

Aang looked at her a little uneasily. "Well…why don't you tell us?"

Katara presented the little girl to her and she began to sob. "Oh, my little Zaria. You're alright," she was sobbing and looking at Aang and Katara with unimaginable gratitude. "Oh, Avatar, thank you. Thank you, thank you. Thank you so much," she sobbed and rocked the baby in her arms.

Aang and Katara were both smiling at the happy moment and Aang felt inclined to put his arm around her shoulder. She leaned into him, finally feeling a little better after a day of so much hurt and sorrow. "Come on," he said, smiling as he tilted his head into her hair. "Let's give them some space."

They were walking hand in hand back towards the palace when Katara suddenly changed their course. Aang didn't ask nor argue, he just let her do as she pleased and followed along.

When she finally began to slow down, the palace was behind them and they were heading into thicker trees. "Katara…where exactly are we going?" Aang half laughed, but was more than willing to follow her along.

"Shh!" she quieted him and led him further. The moon shone down onto her face and he could see that she was smiling now. He heard it before he saw it: a grand lake rested in a clearing right there in the middle of nowhere. It was an odd thing to come across, but Aang was not at all surprised that Katara had taken him there. He just didn't know why.

"What are we doing here?" he was whispering now, but suppressing the light laughter that wanted to escape his lungs.

She laughed slightly but walked straight toward the shore. Instead of stopping, she went directly into the water and once it reached her waist, she turned to face him, and stopped. She smiled at him before looking away shyly. Aang raised an eyebrow at her odd behavior, but began to walk forward. "I thought I could fix your shoulder," she said, looking back up and nodding to the injury.

Aang was surprised. He hadn't even noticed it, but there was dried blood caked around his shoulder. It was his own, and it hurt, though he hadn't realized he was hurt at all until she pointed it out. He decided he must have gotten it when he was out searching for survivors. "Oh." He laughed a little. "Okay."

Stepping forward a little more boldly now, he took off what remained of his tattered and burnt shirt and joined her in the water and didn't stop until he was inches away from her. He offered a sly smile at her lack of action from his sudden closeness, but she only paused for a moment before beginning her work.

The water was glowing over her palms as she pressed them gently against his shoulder. She began to massage the upper part of his arm as she worked, and Aang let his eyes slip shut. He couldn't tell that any pain was left in his shoulder. He could only feel Katara.

Without really thinking about it, Aang slowly reached his hand up to take Katara's. When she felt his touch, the water fell back to the lake with her surprise. Aang gradually lifted the hand he had distracted up to his lips and kissed it, not opening his eyes until Katara's hand connected with his lips. His eyes met her own for a brief moment before he began placing gentle kisses on her hand, moving up towards her wrist and forearm. She let him continue, her own eyes slipping closed out of pleasure.

When he had kissed his way all the way up to the inside of her shoulder and began working his way up her neck slowly, savoring the moment, she let her left arm reach up and lay upon his shoulder. With her right arm, she lifted it to the lower part of his back, feeling his muscles ripple in excitement. She could only pull him closer to her. He let her.

By this point, he was kissing her cheekbone, and she was too impatient to wait. She twisted her head so that their lips met in the center, and she hungrily attacked his. He wasted no time and joined her ferociously. His tongue's request for entrance into her mouth was quickly granted and his hand reached up to the nape of her neck, the other reaching for the small of her back to pull her closer to him.

Her hands began to explore his bare chest—starting at his shoulders and slowly moving downwards until she discovered the flat plane of his stomach. She was too nervous to go any further on her own, but she wanted to.

Without breaking the kiss, Aang reached up to put his hands in her hair. He wanted to explore her too, but he wasn't bold enough to try anything he really wanted to. He was completely surprised, however, when she took his hand and guided it to her chest. She laid his hand over her heart gently before taking his forearm and guiding his hand to where it gently cupped her breast. It was her way of giving him permission. In that moment, the two wanted each other equally, and both were doing all they could to take down the barriers.

Then Aang did something that was very out of character for him. He moved his hand away from her breast for a brief moment up to the collar of her clothing and began to peel it away. He slid his hand into it—though not far at all—and began to feel her upper back and chest.

Katara felt lightheaded. She and Aang had been together before, but things hadn't gone much further than this. For some reason, though, something was different tonight. She felt greedy. She wanted more.

She began to shift her position in front of him a little, and he could feel what she meant to do. Placing both of his hands at her waist he lifted her so that she could wrap her legs around him. He wrapped his arms around her middle to support her. She wrapped her arms around his neck.

Katara's gasps and soft moans of pleasure fueled him and he began to kiss her all over. Back down to her neck, under her chin, her chest—everywhere she had given him permission. As he kissed her, he walked, back to the shore of the lake. Neither of them really registered the action, but he laid Katara down upon the beach and lowered himself over her so that he could kiss her more.

Her hands were all over his chest as he began to kiss her stomach and lingered there.

"Katara," he whispered, and it wasn't really a question. Nor was it a statement. More like a confirmation for him that she was his and he was hers. They belonged to each other. They belonged with each other. They belonged here. In each other's arms.

"Aang," she whispered back, though when she said his name, she made it sound as though she had more to say. "Aang…I love you." The way she said it was like she was confessing it for the first time. But they had said it to each other many times. They were engaged now. Practically married. This time, his name coming from her lips, that simple 'I love you', it was just like an invitation. The invitation he wanted.

"I love you too," he said in acceptance, and came back up to meet her lips. He deepened the kiss and they continued under the beautiful night sky reflected on the lake behind them: the stars' reflection dancing in the cool ripples of the dark water.

"What am I going to do?" Zuko was sitting on the edge of a balcony looking over one of the yards occupied by injured. He was running his fingers through his dark hair in anxiety. No longer dressed in his formal robes indicative of his status as Firelord, he was dressed in what would have been his normal attire before Ozai fell-back when he had been working with the gaang.

Toph was still in the dark green funeral dress she had showed up in, but had altered it to be appropriate for a crisis. She'd ripped it to a tee-length and taken off the straps completely. Her hair was still flowing and beautiful, but she had taken out her headband. She was absolutely stunning—Zuko was mad at himself for noticing in the midst of much more pressing matters.

"My city, my people…in ruins…" He hadn't had the faintest idea how bad the earthquake was until he had gone out to help tend to the injured. People were dying by the hour. Too many. Too few not hurt to help. "Sokka's an emotional wreck. Katara and Aang have disappeared, assumedly for the evening." The next part he didn't say aloud, but rather he thought it. It was as if he were speaking to Toph inside his head. _And you. What are you even doing here? _

Toph sighed, obviously not hearing his thoughts. "I don't know what to tell you, Zuko. But this isn't your fault. You understand that, don't you?" Her voice was unusually compassionate. He was still having a hard time adjusting to the new Toph.

"But it is," he moaned, putting his face in his hands in anguish. "It is my fault. I didn't directly cause the earthquake, but it's my fault! I had every opportunity to kill my sister. To stop her for good. But I always thought that she could be better. I'm such an idiot!" He groaned and kicked at nothing from his perch on the balcony.

"Well, yeah, you are an idiot. But that has nothing to do with this. Do you honestly think it was your responsibility to kill her? She needs to be stopped, but I think you have a lot on your plate already. You just need to realize that you can't save everyone."

The last sentence cut deep. _…you can't save everyone. _It had never been put into words that way, but he realized that was exactly what he wanted to do. He hated his father because he was simply an evil person, but he still wanted to believe he was a good father. He still wanted Ozai to love him. To save him from himself. He wanted to save his mother from wherever she was- his father had never told him. He still wanted to save his sister. But he now realized that it was impossible. How could he save her from herself? It was impossible with Ozai, and it was even more impossible with Azula.

"You're wrong, Toph." Toph was about to start lecturing him on how she was absolutely right when he interrupted her. He was referring to a different part of what she had said then she had anticipated. "It is my responsibility. And I will have to kill her."

Toph had stepped forward quietly and placed and hand on his shoulder. "Maybe not you, Zuko. But yeah," as she spoke she tilted her head so that it appeared as though she were gazing up at the stars. Zuko looked up at her from his sitting position on the banister and marveled at the sight. The reflection of the stars in her sightless eyes…it was strange and magnificent to think about. It was simply an idea that intrigued him. "Someone will have to," she whispered, finishing her sentence gravely. There was a silent pause after that, thought it wasn't uncomfortable at all. Zuko didn't mind that Toph didn't move her hand.

Zuko took the opportunity to not look away from her and to change the subject altogether. "What's changed in you, Toph?" He had wanted to ask since she stepped in his office door the day before, but he hadn't had the time. It just didn't seem like an appropriate question to ask. But it seemed alright now.

"What?" she asked, removing her hand. Zuko was glad she couldn't see the slight fall of his expression. "What do you mean?"

"I don't know. You just seem, well…different." He looked away from her and back up at the stars, studying them as they talked. "You're obviously not the same as you were five years ago, but you're just…really different."

She laughed a little. "You mean that I grew up? Now I'm beautiful and girly and mature? I'm not the tomboy you remember when I was twelve?" She had pretty much summed it up for him and he blushed furiously, but denied it.

"No, no…that's not what I mean…it's just-"

She laughed again. "I get it," she giggled. "Yeah, I changed. I didn't really like it, but my parent's suppression for five more years had that sort of effect, I guess. I still like getting down and dirty, I just don't do it as much because there isn't a need. I never had the opportunity to fight, so I took interest in other things. It turns out I actually like living in the lap of luxury. I missed having a house and being able to be clean and having people around to do whatever you want them to. I just liked it a whole lot better when I could be a little more in charge. My parents tried their best to keep me sheltered even after I came back, but I wouldn't let them.

It was great…I just missed going places. Seeing people I cared about. And yeah," she said, smiling slyly and throwing in a soft laugh for effect. "I got pretty…whatever that is."

Zuko was more than a little stunned by her monologue. He didn't really have anything to say in response, though he really wanted to.

"Sounds like you figured a lot out," he mused, finally standing up. He looked out over the sea of injured people for a moment before turning his face back towards the stars. A happier place. He blushed, wanting to say what he shouldn't. He said it anyway.

"You know, you're right. Or whoever told you that was right…about being pretty." He turned and looked at her for a brief moment. "You really are."

Toph, looking blankly in front of her but not at Zuko smiled devilishly. For some reason, she was very glad to hear him say that.

She unexpectedly hopped up onto her tiptoes and placed the gentlest of kisses on his cheek. So soft and gentle that he could hardly even feel her lips brush his face.

By the time he had registered what had happened, she had her back turned to him and was walking back into the palace, assumedly back to her room for the night. He watched after her without much more to say.

"Goodnight, Firelord Zuko," she said, and her laugh sounded like wind chimes to him.

"Goodnight…" he choked out in a whisper after she was already gone.

It was a nice, albeit confusing end to one particularly hellish day.

One could only guess what tomorrow held.

**A/N: I really don't like this chapter. It moves to fast for my taste and I feel like it was kind of a failure, but please let me know.**

**Also, if you haven't figured it out, this is kind of a sad story. I don't expect that it will cheer any of you up, but **_**some**_** things will get happier. Promise. (:**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Once again, thank you for the reviews. :D I feel appreciated. **

**I started this chapter as more of a filler than anything else. My problem is that I do not like fillers. I am not patient enough for them, and I don't believe it is necessary at all. So this is going to get the story going a little more quickly than originally planned. But I am enjoying myself here. So think of it what you will, and let me know, please. (:**

**Oh, and one more thing. I am a big fan of time skips. I haven't decided completely yet, but I am fairly sure more will be showing up. If things go as planned, some pretty major ones. So just be aware.**

Chapter Three

The next morning was like waking up in a fog.

No one was really sure what was going on, nor were they even remotely able to guess what was to come. Zuko didn't sleep well at all the night before and got up very early, refusing to wear any of his official Firelord robes. He went out amongst the people in normal fire nation garb and helped.

He gave water to the elderly, entertained a few children (to the best of his ability), and helped to comfort the injured. Really, he was just assisting in every way he could. Continually asking for orders from the few nurses that were around who constantly needed help.

Toph didn't mind taking care of a more morbid job. She went back out into the city to collect the dead. They needed to be taken care of somehow. Aang (who had shown up with Katara very early in the morning, both eager to help) was able to help Toph, though he couldn't detach himself from the situation as much as she could. He had been born and raised to be a monk. Death was not something he could deal with easily, even if he had no personal connection with the dead.

Katara was doing much the same as Zuko only a more focused sort of work. She was still healing, but she had gotten the majority of the people the day before. She was just tending to small things now. For the most part, the situation was under control.

Sokka had gotten himself together by that morning and it seemed as though he was trying to make up for lost time. He was neither a healer nor a scavenger—he was a warrior. And while he tried to do all he could to assist Katara and some of the fire nation nurses like Zuko was doing, he was plotting in his head. He had already realized that Azula could not go on ignored. They would definitely have to do something about her, but what, he wasn't sure. He just knew that they needed to find her and stop her at all costs.

"Sokka, will you go find this man some clothes?" Katara spoke to her brother without looking up from her work. She was cleaning his wounds that didn't need to be healed immediately. His pants were alright, but he had no shoes and the burnt pieces of fabric that had once been his shirt was lying beside him in a small, blackened heap.

There was a bin of clothes that Zuko had commanded be collected and place for use by the survivors of the earthquake over by the inner wall of the palace. "You are very kind, Miss," said the old man that Katara was tending to. Sokka realized how old he was when he spoke. His voice was scratchy and quiet, but he sounded very kind. He looked like he was holding back a good amount of pain as she cleaned the dirt and ash from his open wounds, but he did not complain.

Sokka rushed off to ask one of the nurses if he could retrieve some clothes from the bin. He was surprised when she snapped at him. "Absolutely not! We are going in order. We can't skip ahead to him. No, no. He'll be fine for now." When Sokka didn't go away, the nurse finally gave him her full attention and was much kinder. "Listen. I'm sorry I snapped at you, but I have a lot of work to do. I am tired. We all are. But I can't let you go into the clothes bin. We aren't sure if we'll have enough, and if not, we can't have skipped anyone already waiting for them. I'm sorry, but his turn will come soon."

"You are Katara, the Healer, correct?" Katara looked up from her work with the old man to see a nurse standing there.

"Yes, I am. What is it?" She wasn't meaning to sound impatient, but she was busy. Trying to help.

"I was told to give you these."

The nurse held a red tunic and a pair of boots in her hands. She tilted her head, not understanding why Sokka hadn't come with the clothes. "I was also told to tell you that your brother would have brought them himself, but he got busy helping another nurse." Katara quickly took the clothes and began dressing the man, figuring that was all that needed to be said. The nurse walked on without another word.

Later, when Katara had moved to another group of injured people, she spotted her brother assisting a nurse in carrying some things.

She only saw him for a brief second, but it made her smile.

Across the sea of people where her brother was helping, she could see that he was barefoot and bare-chested.

* * *

"Found one!" Toph called, and the next thing Aang knew, a dead body was chucked through the air and towards his head.

He used airbending to slow the body down and caught it in his arms, frowning as he saw the young girls face. Only a little older than him, maybe. So young…so much of her life left to live-

"Make that two!" Toph called almost cheerfully and the second body came sailing through the air for Aang to catch. He laid them both on a tarp they were using to collect the bodies.

"Toph!" Aang complained. "Do you have to throw them like this? It's disrespectful to the dead." As a monk, he felt like this was a big job for him to do, and they should both be respectful of those who had passed on to the spirit world. Toph thought a little differently. She was by his side and the tarp in only a few moments.

"Hate to break it to you Twinkletoes, but," she made a great show of poking a dead man in the head, "I don't think they mind. Anyways it is much faster than solemnly carrying them to their resting place. They're just dead, anyway."

"Just dead," Aang mused quietly and morbidly to himself before moving a few bodies around, trying to organize them in a way that they all looked as peaceful as possible.

After they had moved on to a few more buildings, Aang found a dead child somewhere around five years old. He hung his head to mourn him for a moment before Toph came up behind him. "Look, Aang," she said, and her voice was caring. "I don't really enjoy this or anything. This is just how I cope. I know these people are dead, but this is one of the few things I can do to help. I can find them. And I can cut myself off emotionally from them. It doesn't bother me. If you need to go…" She offered to let him leave, and he knew it really wouldn't bother her at all. She could see how conflicted he was about leaving her to deal with it, though.

She smiled lightly. "Get outta here, Twinkletoes. Go help Sweetness back at the palace." She held out her arms for the child in his hands. She couldn't tell that it was a child, but she could tell that it sparked more emotion in Aang than before and she could only assume. "I prefer to work alone, anyway." This was mostly the truth. On any other day, she would have kept Aang around so she didn't have to work alone. But today, when she was trying to keep herself emotionally detached from all the death, Aang was bringing her back down to earth. She would prefer to work alone because she could work _better _alone. She punched him in the shoulder—her forgotten sign of affection—and pulled him to his feet without his cooperation.

She snatched the child from his hands and when he still seemed unresponsive, she kicked him in the butt. "Hey, Aang!" she yelled, trying to get his attention. "Are you going all Spirit World on me or what? Are you even listening to me? Go away!" She smiled slightly to herself as she heard him begin to stir and eventually turned to face her. His expression hadn't changed one bit, but the tone of his voice had.

"Thanks, Toph," was all he said. It was all he could say before he opened his glider and took off. He didn't feel that he could spend much more time thanking her.

When he arrived back at the palace, all seemed to be pretty calm. The worst of the injuries had been taken care of and now people were helping each other. Sharing food, water, and kind words of comfort, everyone seemed to be doing okay, all things considered.

After walking around a bit, Aang stumbled upon Zuko who looked mildly uncomfortable as he held an elderly woman's hand. He was simply escorting her around while she looked for someone, scanning the faces of the scattered people. She reached her resting place beside a younger woman just as Aang walked up. "Zuko," Aang said, using only his friends name as a greeting. "How can I help?"

Zuko looked thoughtful for a moment. "I don't really think you can at the moment. We've pretty much got it covered for right now. I do think Sokka wants to talk to you, though. Actually, he wants to talk to all of us. " Zuko raised his eyebrows and began walking. Aang fell in step beside him. "He came out here this morning and I have only seen him a few times. He's working himself sick."

That certainly didn't sound like Sokka, but Aang went along with Zuko to find him.

When they found their friend trying to entertain a few children, they stayed back and watched unnoticed.

"Alright kids, so this is what we're doing," Sokka said, and both Aang and Zuko couldn't help but smile a little at how enthusiastic he was towards the children. He was sitting cross-legged in front of them, holding what appeared to be three coconut halves. He stacked them up and set them face down on the ground before holding up a little red pebble. Aang had a mini flashback of when he and Sokka went with Toph to trick a man with this exact game.

"I'm going to put this red pebble under one of these bowls." As he said that, he did so and immediately began shuffling them. "When I finish moving them around, you have to decide which bowl it's under." Sokka grinned cockily at the children, watching their puzzled faces as he shuffled faster and faster. "Now," he said, slowing to a stop. "Don't be disappointed if you don't get it on your first try. This is a very complicated game, and I wouldn't expect you to start getting it until you're a little olde-"

"That one!" squeaked a child with an outstretched pointed finger. Sokka flipped it over and gasped when the red pebble was under it.

He remembered himself quickly. "Wow! That was really good! Lucky guess," he smiled with genuine kindness at the child. "I'll shuffle better this time. So don't get upset if you can't get it a seco-"

"That one!" another child pointed out this time. Again, the red pebble was under it.

Sokka looked frustrated. "Okay, you guys are good. But I bet you can't get it this time!" He shuffled as fast as he possibly could, mumbling to himself as he did.

While he shuffled, the children giggled.

"Ha!" he said, obviously satisfied with his result as he sat back from the bowls. "Now which one is it?"

One of the children who was recovering from a giggling fit pointed his finger directly in Sokka's face and laughed loudly, "That one!"

"Huh?" Sokka asked, suddenly confused. A moment later he felt something tapping on his head. He looked up and was embarrassed to see Aang earthbending the red pebble up and down on his head. "Oh, ha ha," Sokka said sarcastically, folding his arms in front of him as the children continued to laugh. "Very funny, Aang."

Aang laughed loudly. "How's it going, Sokka?" he attempted to ask innocently. Zuko was snickering beside him, though only slightly. He had lightened up a lot over the years, but it took a lot of self-motivation to be amused by such a childish prank.

"Well, we were playing a fun game until some annoying kid with freaky arrow tattoos showed up and spoiled the fun." Sokka looked as if he might stick his tongue out at Aang. Aang no doubt would have done the same.

"Really, now?" Aang said with a sarcastic-sounding laugh. "I just saw that kid. I thought his tattoos were pretty cool. He went to rescue a few kids from a boring game with some guy who had lame hair."

Suddenly Sokka looked as though he were about to cry. He'd spent five year perfecting his hair. It was much the same as Hakoda's now. "Not the hair, Aang…" he said pitifully with his bottom lip jutting out. "That was below the belt." Aang suppressed his laughter.

"If you two are done here…" Zuko said, trying to be polite. He enjoyed games and laughter and all, this was just not his brand of fun.

"Yeah, Zuko," Aang laughed, reaching to pull a little of Sokka's hair. "We're done here." He laughed at Sokka's expression from having his hair pulled. "So what did you need to talk to us about, Sokka? Zuko said you had something to share?"

Sokka changed expressions, but didn't get completely serious. "Not really to share…just an idea I want to propose."

Aang stood up a little straighter, looking interested. "Okay. Go ahead," he invited.

Sokka looked uneasy for a brief moment before getting a little more serious. "Well I wanted to wait until I could tell you all at once, but I guess I might as well tell you now." Aang and Zuko stepped a little closer, as if it were a top secret meeting. "Yesterday when I was resting," he said, hoping to avoid really talking about the previous day, "I started really thinking about Azula. You guys must realize that she can't go on ignored. With the Dai Li on her side, she took out half the fire nation in a day. All I want to propose is that we try and stop her. You both realize as much as I do that the earthquake was not all she's planning. I just want to suggest that we do something now rather than wait for her to strike again."

"Woah, woah, woah. You guys are plotting? Without _me?_" None of them knew exactly how Toph had managed to pop up at that exact moment, but she did. "And why with him?" she asked, jabbing her thumb into Sokka's shoulder. "I assumed that we had already established that he isn't emotionally fit to lead any sort of attack. I don't think he deserves to be able to anyway, but that's just my opinion." She spoke lightly, obvious not really meaning these things, thought she was trying to insult Sokka. There was nothing new there. He, however, felt bad. He took her words mostly to heart, though he knew she wasn't really serious. He realized he'd been a jerk to her, but it was the wrong place and time to apologize now.

"I'm not leading any sort of attack, Toph," he said, acting like nothing had happened. "But you're more than welcome to join in on whatever we're planning."

Zuko was shaking his head. "It won't work. She is long gone, and we have no way of knowing where she is. Even if we could find her, what would you suggest we do once we find her? You can't take my sister lightly, Sokka."

"No," Aang disagreed, seeing the logic. "Sokka's plan is good. If we found her, we would do what we would inevitably have to do at some point in the near future before she had the chance to do it to one of us. Taking her lightly would be to allow her to continue like this. We don't know what she's planning, but we can pretty much all assume that she _is._"

They were all quiet for a minute. "Well that settles it." Toph looked excited. "Twinkletoes, go get your lover. I'll get Appa and we can be on our way!"

Zuko looked horrified to say the least. "This is crazy! What do you expect to do? Where do you even plan to begin to look? She could be anywhere!"

Aang and Sokka looked at each other before Sokka spoke. "Well, we can start with the obvious and hope for the best. If she really has something planned for us, I'm sure she'll be there waiting on us."

Aang agreed. "She doesn't exactly seem to intend on keeping herself a secret much longer."

"So that's it?" Zuko asked, incredulous. "You're going to go somewhere you expect she might be, hope she's there, and then take out the Dai Li _and _Azula before they take out you? Which, I might add, won't take too long."

Toph was beaming. "I know! Doesn't this sound exciting?"

Aang smiled a little. "See Zuko?" he said, motioning to Toph. "A better attitude would be helpful. Besides. You can't expect us to just sit here. Look at all she caused. That can't go on unpunished."

"You're all crazy," he said with obvious exasperation. "You have no idea what you're setting out to do." He looked at their expressions and his face fell a little more in defeat. "But if you're really set on doing this…" he suppressed a groan. "Count me in." He'd risked his life for them on more than one occasion. He might as well do it again, though he wished it were for something a little less ridiculous.

Aang's smile brightened. "Great. I'll go get Katara and we can get ready to go."

While Sokka, Toph, and Aang beamed with the idea of another adventure together, Zuko face-palmed in defeat.

* * *

"Oh, come on, Zuko. You shouldn't worry so much."

Sokka and the rest of the gaang were in Appa's saddle, flying towards the first obvious destination. No one wasted any time after Aang had gotten Katara. The nurses had the fire nation citizens under control and Zuko was able to leave his trusted advisors in charge without worry. He guessed there would be some speculation as to why the Fire Lord would leave his nation in such a time of great crisis, but he figured they could understand.

The first obvious destination was Lake Laogai, and that was where they were headed.

No one expected her to be there, but Sokka insisted that they cover all their bases and check everywhere. Azula was tricky, and he suspected there was a chance that she had gone there to trick them, thinking they would just skip over it for being so obvious.

"Yeah, Zuko," Toph agreed. "We're just going to quietly go in, beat your sister to a bloody pulp, burn the pieces, dance on the ashes and leave. No worries."

"I'm not worried about that," Zuko said gloomily. No one was really affected by his tone. It was kind of usual for him.

"Then what are you worried about?" Katara was wrapped in one of her old coats and seated close to Aang. The air might not have been so chilly if they weren't flying through dark, grey rainclouds. It looked like rain and it felt like snow, but there were only clouds.

Zuko didn't say anything for a long time. "Nothing," he answered finally, and sat with his knees to his chin in the corner of the saddle for the rest of the trip. At some point or another he feel asleep.

It had already been established that the trip would take a fair amount of time and they would be flying throughout the night. Aang and Katara left at some point to sit behind Appa's neck and talk for a while in the dark.

While Zuko slept, Toph and Sokka were left alone in the saddle, each awkwardly sitting silently and not speaking to each other.

Sokka kept motioning forward like he was about to speak, but he continued to rethink it and stop himself. Finally, Toph made a great show of yawning. "Well," she said, "Zuko's snoring is finally starting to put me to sleep. I think I missed the comforting sound after all these years. G'night." Zuko wasn't snoring at all that Sokka could tell, but even still, he knew it was his _own _snoring that had put her to sleep.

He decided there would be no better opportunity. "Toph, wait." He exhaled and hoped he could formulate a proper apology.

"Yes?" she said, sounding half annoyed as she was just in the process of laying down.

"I…" his nervous expression turned into one of guilt and seriousness. "I just wanted to apologize. What I said to you the other day was way out of line. I was just hurt and upset…I don't know what I was thinking."

Toph was silent for a few moments before her quiet, sleepy reply came. "You _weren't _thinking. This is nothing unusual for you." She yawned again, but felt that he was still a little unsettled. "Relax," she said, and finally lay down. "I know you didn't mean anything by it."

The finality in her tone seemed to put an end to it, though Sokka hardly felt better. A good night's sleep would probably do the trick. "Goodnight, Toph," he said, laying down to sleep. "And thanks for understanding," he said, right before he slipped into unconsciousness.

A few hours later, only the wind could be heard, soaring past them all. Behind Appa's neck, Aang and Katara were huddled up together, asleep. Momo had found his way in between them and was also sound asleep, fidgeting slightly with his apparent dreaming.

Sokka made no secret of the fact that he was dead to the world—one leg up on the side of the saddle, mouth wide open with a bit of drool coming out of the side, and his snoring was astounding. It was a wonder anyone else was getting sleep.

Zuko wasn't. He was sitting at the far end of the saddle, looking out behind Appa. There was nothing to see in the darkness- the night was cloudy and he could only assume it was a new moon. There wasn't a light to be seen anywhere. He couldn't see his own palm in front of his face.

"Hey there, princess."

Zuko jumped practically ten feet from his seat at the voice in his ear.

"Relax. It's just me."

"Toph!" Zuko whisper-shouted. "What did you do that for? What's wrong with you?" He sounded more relieved than angry, but he was definitely trying his best.

Toph giggled quietly. "I guess it isn't very light out here, huh?"

The sudden revelation hit Zuko like a bag of bricks. What an odd thing to think about. This darkness was no different to her than daytime, or the brightest night on earth. It wouldn't have made a difference if he were holding a candle or Sozin's comet itself. "No," he said simply, a little quieter and calmer. "It isn't."

"So what are you doing up? Couldn't sleep? Sokka's snoring and constant moving got to me." She didn't speak loudly, but her words were slow. Like a dream.

"I just had a lot on my mind." The way he said it made Toph think he didn't want to talk about it.

That had never stopped her before. "Like what?"

Zuko hesitated, thinking it over. "Well, mostly how crazy this is." He was suddenly a waterfall of confession. "You all were tracked by my sister for a long time, but it appears you still don't know her. How can you think this is a good idea? It is just insane to expect that you can track her down in the first place, much less to even allow yourselves to believe that you could do anything once you found her."

Toph considered this. "You and Katara took her down before."

"That's different," he explained. "Something was seriously wrong with Azula that day. I had never seen her like that before and she had just completely lost it. But seeing her the other day…she definitely got it back again. And she got it back with a vengeance. With the Dai Li. With her sanity. Don't you see? Whatever she has planned, you're falling for it without even trying."

Again, Toph considered what he was saying. "But you don't know that, Zuko. You haven't seen her in five years. Maybe she really hasn't gotten better. I am sure we could take her down regardless. I owe a lot of pain to her."

Now Zuko took time to consider what Toph had said. "Yeah. I owe her a lot of pain too." This much was true. Azula had taken most everything from him. Between Azula and his father, he'd been stripped of his happiness long ago and left with nothing but a title. He couldn't exactly complain, though. Firelord wasn't the shortest straw he could have drawn.

"Just wait and see. We may not know what we're doing, but in a way, we never have. So let's just hope, for our sake, that we don't show up only to be pummeled into the ground by that bat-shit crazy sister of yours, okay?"

Zuko stared towards the sound of her voice before laughing. He'd never heard her say such a thing. "That would be what we are hoping for," he agreed. In any case, something needed to be done about her.

Toph smiled, glad to have made him laugh. Then she said what had been on his mind exactly: "Either outcome, something needs to be done about her. Someone who has the kind of power to potentially take out a nation with an earthquake needs to be stopped."

Zuko nodded, though he realized it was pointless. It was dark and she was blind. "Yeah. You're right. No one needs that sort of power. I just don't understand how she has control of the Dai Li."

Toph shrugged—another useless gesture. "The Dai Li have always loved power, or so I hear. My guess is their loyalty lies with the highest bidder. She has the potential and the mentality to conquer the world. I think that makes her the highest bidder."

"Highest bidder," he mused. "I guess that is really all she is. Powerful firebender or not, she isn't invincible. She just needs her little army." He sighed. "I guess she got it. I still don't really get her motivation, though. What's the significance of all of this? What more does she want?"

"A higher death toll," Toph guessed. "She got Mai and Ty Lee. By mistake, she got Suki. She took out innocent fire nation citizens, and who knows who else."

"But why? What does that accomplish?" Zuko knew his sister wasn't exactly in her right mind, but she always had a plan. His only guess was what it had always been. She wanted power. And she wanted all the people who had ever wronged her to suffer. Something along the lines of that.

Toph considered his question. "I don't know," she said, and her voice sounded completely serious.

"But like I said. Bat-shit crazy."

* * *

Arriving at Lake Laogai was not a slow process.

The sun came up over the Earth Kingdom. Appa landed by the lake and they walked up to it. Toph did a little bending, but once again found nothing. The place appeared to be as abandoned as it had been roughly five years ago.

It was all very simple, really.

Zuko seemed a little relieved. "So where do you plan to go from here?"

Aang was walking around without shoes, Momo crawling about his neck and head as he did. He was feeling the earth as Toph did. "I don't think we plan to go anywhere right away, Zuko."

Not a moment after the words had left Aang's mouth, he was proven very, very right.

For no one was going anywhere at all. In a split second, Toph snapped up and was able to shout "They" in a half-scream. In the next second, the five of them had been pinned to the ground via earthbending. Momo and Appa were also bound.

Toph was the first to react. Her earthen bindings quickly fell away and she started madly chucking rocks into the air. It only took her a moment to realize that no one was standing there and she started sending shockwaves into the ground. "Show…yourselves…cowards!" she shouted, speaking in between pounds.

Aang had already freed the others. "It's the Dai Li, I'm guessing," he said half-urgently. He couldn't sense any rhyme or reason as to why they had just been trapped.

The next thing to happen was completely unexpected.

Everyone was pinned to the ground again, but no visible earthbending had taken place. Each person was now outlined in arrows, pinning different parts of their clothes to the ground. Aang and Zuko were the only ones to really recognize this attack.

Zuko was the only one to vocalize it. "The Yu Yan archers?" He couldn't believe it, but there they came, jumping from the ground nimbly like the ninjas they were.

No one but Toph attempted to struggle as more and more came, each flanked by Dai Li agents. Katara was the first to feel like it was one of the most nerve-wracking things she'd ever seen.

Three Dai Li agents stepped forward and pounded Toph into the ground so that she could no longer move. For good measure, three more came and did the same to Aang, though he wouldn't have tried to struggle.

"What are you doing this for?" Katara practically snarled. Aang was completely constricted by the earthbenders, and both he and Toph appeared to struggle to breathe. "Let them go!"

Zuko had a different approach. "Azula!" he called, though she was nowhere in sight. "Show yourself!"

An unknown voice came from one of the Dai Li agents who had stepped forth. Zuko spoke to him with a livid tone. He had known something terrible would happen if they came here, but he hadn't expected this. "What is this? Why are you working together? Where is my sister?"

The man was silent for a moment before speaking in an even, steady tone. "We are the Dai Yan. We are here to retrieve one of you."

It was Toph's turn to speak. She was furious. "Who and why? What the hell is your problem? When I get out of here, I am going to beat you all into the earth! Your great-grandchildren will be able to taste my feet!"

"As lovely as that sounds," he said, still barely with emotion, "We have only come for one. And we have only a short period of time to take them and be on our way."

Aang's voice angrily came out strong. "You can forget about it, then. We're not breaking up this group for you."

Sokka agreed, still struggling with his bindings heavily. "Yeah! You're not getting any of us!"

"We are willing to take her peacefully, if she will come."

Toph struggled against the earth. "Me!" she shrieked. "Peacefully? You guys are nuts! Let me out of her so I can show you how _peaceful_ I can get!" Her voice was dripping with deadly, violent sarcasm.

The man didn't waste a second. "Not you." His arm outstretched, he pointed to Katara. "This one."

Katara looked shocked and Aang looked like he was about to unwillingly enter the Avatar State. "What in the world do you want with Katara?" Zuko asked, appearing to be the only one calm.

"We need your cooperation now, or we will take you by force." He ignored Zuko altogether. Three more Dai Li agents went to hold down Aang. He looked as if he might explode.

Katara just looked to be in shock. "Alright," she said finally, her voice strong. "I'll go."

"What!" Aang looked murderous. "No you won't! You can't! Katara, you can't be serious."

She sighed. The Dai Li had begun flicking their wrists, becoming impatient. They really intended to do this quick. "I can take care of myself, Aang," she said strongly, and quit trying to fight her restraints. She hoped they would set her free because of it. She didn't plan to fight them, but she did plan to save herself the pain of being forcibly taken. She could tell they really meant business.

Sokka was attempting to flail all of his extremities around in the air like a madman, but couldn't move. "KATARA! NO! You are insane, and you aren't going anywhere!"

Katara only looked slightly annoyed, but watched their urgent expressions as they came to free her. "It doesn't look like your or I have a choice, Sokka." A Dai Li agent helped her to her feet and she looked back at them. "I'll be okay." She hadn't really taken the time to register it. She didn't know what the Dai Yan could possibly want with her, but she was sure it wasn't something she couldn't handle.

She scowled at the men behind her, not happy to be about to leave, and not sure how she would follow them. "I'll go along with this, she said at their uneasy looks. But don't—"

She fell to the ground in small heap, not able to finish her sentence. The Dai Li agent standing next to her had hit a pressure point to knock her out.

Aang roared and his arrows glowed for a moment, though this had been prepared for. He still wasn't able to free himself. "Let her go!" he screamed, and writhed under the mass of earth that held him. The ground began to shake in a way that reminded Zuko very much of the earthquakes.

Sokka, no doubt, would have been causing the same thing had he been given the power. For now he just screamed and tried to move.

"Katara!" he shouted, and his expression was murderous.

Without another word, pressure points were being hit.

Aang was taken out first, though it took a few tries to sedate him. The color in his arrows slowly faded back to their original blue and he didn't stir, save for his breathing. They took away the earth from his body.

Toph came next, though even in her state of unconsciousness, she looked madder than Zuko had ever seen her.

Sokka, Zuko though, just looked helpless. He wanted to kill someone but couldn't move. What a terrible thing to be completely at the mercy of someone you can't control. He soon went silent and still.

Zuko had the worst of it. Having to know and slowly watch what was coming. It was agonizing in its own way. But the whole situation was agonizing. It was bizarre, really. Everyone was in too much shock over the small attack to think of an appropriate response. Therefore, mayhem had broken out. Katara…well, he just hoped Katara would be alright. For her sake. For Aang's sake. For Sokka's sake. For all of their sakes, really.

When the Dai Li agent came over to him and knelt, he was scared for a brief moment. "Sleep well, banished prince." Zuko was displeased with the last words he heard.

There was a moment of pain, and then nothing. Blank darkness overtook him, and all was silent.

When they woke, the Dai Yan were gone. The earthbenders, the archers, gone.

Most importantly, Katara was nowhere in sight.

**A/N: Things are started to go in the right direction for me, but I am not sure that I'm doing it right. I didn't like the end of this chapter. I know it seems strange and rushed, but there it is. That's kinda how it was meant to be anyway. The Dai Yan was just an idea that came to me one day. From what I have been told, Dai means "great" in Vietnamese. Yan means "eye" in Chinese. A mixture of these names seemed appropriate somehow.**

**I know I might sound crazy, but have hope. **

**I'm going somewhere. **

**I'm trying to go somewhere.**

**Promise. (:**


End file.
